A visitor tries out Samsung's Galaxy Gear VR at its booth in Tokyo Game Show 2014 in Makuhari, east of Tokyo September 18, 2014. About 421 companies and organizations are participating in the Tokyo Ga (Photo : REUTERS/Yuya Shino )
LG G3 has joined the virtual reality bandwagon and is set to release its own VR headset for the LG G3 called "VR for G3". Tech sites are interpreting the move to be a response to the company's South Korean rival Samsung.
On Feb. 10, Tuesday, LG announced that it was making virtual reality accessible to mainstream consumers by offering its new VR headset for free. To get the VR for G3, customers need to buy new LG G3 smartphones.
In addition, LG G3 buyers will also be getting the VR game "Robobliteration" along with the bundle. The promotion is set to roll out this month in select markets.
The promotion will run for a limited time. After that though, it is unclear if the VR for G3 would be sold separately or not, according to Gigaom.
No price has been also set for the new VR headset, but CNet states the device will be "a similar but no-cost virtual-reality product" to Samsung's Gear VR. The South Korean tech firm released its VR headset in December 2014 for several hundred dollars; Amazon lists it at about $310.
"While still in its infancy, this is just the beginning of the virtual reality movement which until recently was expensive and inaccessible to everyday consumers," Chris Yie, vice president and head of marketing communications at the LG Electronics Mobile Communications Company, said in a statement.
The VR for G3 is based on Google Cardboard and uses a pair of biconvex lenses. With the LG G3 as a screen, users can use VR apps, like the Google Cardboard app, or play VR games that can be downloaded from the Google Play store.
A key selling point of the VR for G3 paired with the LG G3 is that the latter's sleep key is at the back. This makes it accessible to users even when it is mounted on the VR headset.
